Did you know that there are over 7,000 promises in the Bible? God wants us to fulfill every single one of them because then we become more like Jesus.

1.  Each person is FILLED with God's promises.

There’s a key that is needed before you can unlock those promises. Unfortunately, most people go to the grave with promises unfulfilled: Promises about your future, influence, significance, marriage, children, legacy, and so much more. 2 Pet. 1:4 says, "For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust." God wants those promises fulfilled because when every promise is fulfilled one by one you become more the person God wants you to be in your life, relationships, friendships, marriage, finances, and future---7000 promises. But there is a key that is so important that without it you will go unfulfilled even with so many of God’s promises that are available to you.

At our farm in Oregon I have a pickup truck that has a large tool box in the bed. I needed some things in the box desperately but could not find the key to open it. So a friend got me a sledge hammer and a crow bar and I broke open the lock and got the things out that I needed. It cost me $375 to get the lock repaired. I thought to myself that if we try to do it our way, it ends up costing a lot more than if we had the key to open it. Likewise, there is a key that releases the promises of God today.

When I was in the 7^th grade God gave me a promise. At the time my dad was in the military stationed in Japan. I was an altar boy in the Catholic church and I saw how they were teaching the orphans in an orphanage how to read and write, coaching them in baseball and different things, and I remember saying, “That’s what I want to do for the rest of my life. I want to help people be all that they can be.” At the time I did not know the Lord. But I knew that there was a calling for me, even in the 7^th grade.

Some years later I returned back to the mainland and because the calling was in me I thought that the best way to fulfill it was to become a priest. I entered seminary to study for the Priesthood. But because I did not know God I was living a worthless life. I wanted to do parties on the weekend so I started making wine which, ultimately, got me expelled from the Seminary. So although I had the promise in me, I was not getting it fulfilled.

Then at the age of 19 I received Christ and got saved. Three months later I entered

Eugene Bible College (Now called New Hope Christian Bible College), in order to fulfill this promise that I had within me. Although I was saved I hardly knew anything about God. I was searching, trying, experimenting to find the right direction that would lead me to the promise I had within me. I think a lot of young people are faced with this same situation and this is why mentors are so important to guide them.

In my Church History class, taught by Dr. Grace Flint, she asked me, “What’s your dream?” After thinking about it I told her about the orphanage. She seemed interested and then told us to write about our dreams. I turned in my paper and the next day she wrote a notation on the paper and it read, “Wayne I’ve listened to you talk about the promises of God in your life and it is spectacular. I’ve noticed something about you, about God’s hands on your life. You keep pursuing that dream. The kingdom of God has been waiting for you.” I read that one phrase over and over again and said, “That’s it. I’ve got to pursue this with all my heart.” But I was still missing the key.

She was a tough teacher and made me type every single one of my notes from the three classes I took from her. After a while I began to understand that what she was teaching me was this:

• God's promises are FULFILLED only when God's CHARACTER is developed.

God’s promises can fill your life but they will remain unfulfilled in your life, marriage, future and finances without the developing of Godly character.

As the Bible says, "Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord" (1 Sam. 2:12).

Although Eli was a high priest and his sons were considered to be religious, they were worthless in the eyes of the lord because they did not have Godly character. Though you hang around church and have knowledge of the Word, it does not mean you know God. There needs to be that transformation that takes place. It is not enough to simply have knowledge or information.

Similarly, Samuel was like an adopted son of Eli and also hung around the places of God. "Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord nor had the word of the Lord yet been revealed" (1 Sam. 3:7). He knew about God but he did not have the character yet to understand God. He was still young in the spiritual life. But later on he begins to develop character and then God starts releasing promise after promise to him. It takes time to develop character. There are youth in our midst that are filled with the promises of God but will not be fulfilled until character is built.

The New Testament is replete with encouragement to build character. For example in Gal. 5:22 the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. In 1 Cor. 13 it says that love is patient, kind, gentle, unwavering, does not brag, does not get jealous, does not take into account the wrongs of others. Love endures all things, hopes all things, and believes all things. Every quality of love is character. The best thing you can do to increase your love for your spouse is to be a man of great character. Likewise, a politician becomes a Statesman if he has character. Character builds integrity, keeps relationships together, gives trustworthiness, makes you punctual, and dependable. Character is what causes people to see that you are a certified genuine authentic human being. Albert Einstein said, “People think that it is intellect that makes you a great scientist. They are wrong. It is character.”

Barbara Walters once said, “There’s a crisis in America and it doesn’t seem like anyone in America is even noticing it. But the crisis is not in education, technology, or finances. In America we have a crisis of character. We are putting people in leadership positions that have talent but without character. We have people who are leading us out of Hollywood that have reputation and talent but they have no character. We are graduating students from High School and College that know Trigonometry and Science but they don’t have the character to resolve simple problems in their family.”

Why are we so shy of character?

• Building godly character takes HARD WORK.
  
  

Accordingly, it is written, "For the dream comes about by much effort" (Eccles. 5:3) and "Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness" (1 Tim. 4:7).

• TALENT can take you where your CHARACTER will not sustain you.
  
  

 Many very talented people have begun well only to end poorly. It’s almost as if God will hold off because you don’t have the character ready yet. And your weak character will not sustain you where your talent will take you. And if we are impatient we can destroy our futures.

"The Lord said, 'Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed?'" (Gen. 18:17-18).

There are some of you here today that have been waiting on the promises of God for your finances, your marriage, your relationships, and your job. But I want you to remember that there are no shortcuts to the key. You can do it yourself with a sledge hammer and crow bar but it will only mess you up. In the end you will say, “Why God?” Now it will cost you way more than if you waited for God. There are no shortcuts to great character---the key to unlocking the promises in your life.

Character is critical. To be diligent, trustworthy, kind, able to forgive and able to overlook a fault will help you unlock your promises within. You need to be able to look beyond someone’s immaturity or sin so that they don’t mess you up by making you become resentful and bitter. Character keeps our marriage together, keeps our minds focused, keep us from gossiping and ruining people’s reputations. So where does character come from?

2.  Godly character is first MODELED ... then developed.

Research and polls have shown that the greatest influence on a child (good or bad) is his or her parents. What parents do kids usually follow. For example, the Bible says, "...While these nations feared the Lord, they also served their idols, their children likewise and their grandchildren, as their fathers did, so they do till this day" (2 Kings 17:41).

What kind of life would you like?

3. God's promises must be PURSUED with great intentionality.

 If you could put a grade on your life what kind of life would you like to live? Is it A, B, C, D, or F? Because in the end nobody grades your life, your marriage, your influence, your involvement, your faith and your own devotion but you. So if you say you want the promises of God to be fulfilled in your life, go for it with all your heart because God says, "Then you will call upon Me and ... you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart" (Jer. 29:12-13) and"...you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul" (Deut. 4:29).

Character is like a five karat diamond ring. Although the band is simple and doesn’t get much attention, the setting that holds the diamond must be strong and secure in order to withstand any bumps that could jar the valuable gem loose. Character is like that setting. God has promised us wonderful gems. But without the basis and holding power of character, these gems will be lost forever at the first bump. The Holy Spirit’s desire is to produce character in each of us prior to the setting of the gem. Whether those gems are a healthy marriage, influential positions, ministry, the promise of financial resources, they all require character. So learn to be diligent, be honest, be steady and faithful, keep commitments, go by what is right and not how you feel at the moment. And when God sees that the setting is ready he will be faithful to put the very best gems in your life.

Questions

---How am I doing with patience in my life?

---How am I doing with getting upset? Worrying?

---In what situations are you using a sledge hammer and crow bar as a quick fix to your problems?

---Where in your life do you need to change before you can receive God’s promises?

---Who can be your mentor that can guide you to making the right decisions in life?